The origins of the TVRG go back as far as 1976. Repeaters were in their infancy and a group of friends, all of whom were amateurs, decided it would be good to set up a repeater to cover the Reading area. At that time, the only possibility was for a 70cm unit as Reading was deemed to be covered by GB3SN and GB3WH on 2m.
A site at Upper Basildon, west of Reading was found and the group named themselves the Berkshire Downs Repeater Group. The first repeater on 70cm, GB3BK became operational in October 1977 and eventually GB3RD on 2m became active from the same site in March 1983. A 23cm repeater/beacon, GB3RU, came on air in 1987, completing the trio.
In 1992, we were approached by the keeper of GB3AW, a 70cm repeater covering Newbury and the surrounding area and were asked if we would be willing to take over the running of this repeater. We agreed to do this.
A few years later in 2000, the group who operated GB3BN, the 70cm repeater based in Bracknell, underwent major changes and we were asked if we could provide technical assistance and equipment and take GB3BN under our wing. This we did and the repeater moved to the current site, which is the police mast near Bracknell.
At the same time we changed our name to become the Thames Valley Repeater Group, which more accurately reflected the location of our repeaters.
Subsequently, in 2002, MB7UJ the APRS (Amateur Radio Packet Reporting System) digipeater became operational from near Bracknell followed in 2015 by the DMR repeater GB7BK, which is co-sited with GB3RD at Aldworth on the Berkshire Downs.
To summarise, TVRG is now responsible for the operation of six amateur radio repeaters in the Thames Valley area, GB3AW (North East Hampshire UHF), GB3BN (Bracknell UHF), GB3RD (Reading VHF), MB7UJ (Bracknell APRS), GB3RU (Reading UHF) and GB7BK (Berkshire DMR).